Neither of them had gone into work the next day. Both had rung in sick (ha, ‘love-sick’, they had laughed unashamedly), so that the secretaries had cancelled their engagements. Jason had then taken Cleo home with him where there wasn’t an echo and where the house was full to the brim with food. They could stay cloistered in the place for a month if they liked, although a day was not to be sneezed at.
They had talked seriously about the missing condom and agreed to use one from then on. This was still very new and although neither could imagine it ending, it was silly for Cleo to risk pregnancy while they were still discovering each other. The magic of their chemistry didn’t wane. Jason’s generous kisses all over her body had broken any taboos Cleo may have had. She found she liked to lick and that Jason liked to be licked. There were not going to be enough hours in a day or days in the year for them to exhaust their longing for the other.
When Cleo finally dragged herself into work, Amanda could see that she hadn’t been well. She looked exhausted.
It was no wonder because the night had been short. She had torn herself away from Jason at five in the morning so that she could return to her flat in London to shower and dress respectably once again. But the office did nothing for her. She was obliged to go over the new campaign she planned to propose on Thursday. It was already honed to perfection but she needed at least one good night’s sleep to be able to present it with any credibility. She groaned at the thought of not seeing Jason. Maybe they could just sleep together without the added Olympics? Well, maybe once or twice… Bugger! The campaign was perfect so who cared if she looked tired. They’d put it down to her dedication to their product.
As she left the office that afternoon, something came back to her.
“Amanda, you can’t possibly know what an amazing job you did on that Builders Report. I’m going to give you a bonus for it. Thank you.”
Amanda’s mouth had dropped open as she watched Cleo hurry out through the office door. She didn’t know if she should be more surprised to see Cleo leaving work at four in the afternoon or for the copious praise she had just lavished upon her. And, a bonus to boot!